'Sign this while you pee': K-pop stars speak out against sasaeng fans

"While the members were using the urinals, fans who had been hiding in the stalls would come out and walk right up beside them to ask for autographs."

Singer Kim Junsu made the revelation last month during an appearance on fellow singer Sung Si-kyung's YouTube channel, recounting the harassment he and his TVXQ bandmates endured from sasaeng fans — obsessive followers known for invading celebrities' privacy. He said a sasaeng once broke into the group's dormitory and kissed a sleeping member, and that another member changed his phone number only to immediately receive a congratulatory text from a sasaeng welcoming the new number.

Such criminal behavior, amounting to stalking, continues to this day.

According to Big Hit Music, the group Cortis recently found that some fans had attached small GPS trackers to their vehicles or had been tailing them. Fans also trespassed in private spaces such as dormitory parking lots and approached artists while posing as staff. For many K-pop idols, boarding international flights offers no respite — fans positioned nearby covertly point cameras at them throughout the journey, making sleep impossible.

Big Hit Music warned it would take legal action against anyone who violates its artists' privacy or threatens their safety.

BTS member V also spoke out earlier this month after sasaeng fans tracked him to his hotel during an overseas stop on his world tour. He posted a screenshot showing he had managed only 2 hours and 27 minutes of sleep, writing: "I also don't really want to share where I'm staying, and it does affect my performance condition, so I'd like to ask you not to."

Actor Choi Kang-hee recently took to social media to ask a specific fan to stop stalking her. "I received a letter saying that if I don't post a response, they will take my silence as consent and follow my car," she wrote. "I want you to understand that attempting to talk to someone without their consent, waiting for them and following them is stalking. Even if you mean no harm, please know that it causes psychological fear."